The Garo Hills’ community forests: a quiet model for climate resilience

In the Garo Hills, forests are not a government line on a map — they are village property, governed by traditional institutions that decide what may be cut, planted or hunted.

A decade-long study of these community forests finds they hold more carbon and more tree species than adjacent reserve forest, and villages under community management reported less flood damage in last year’s deluge.

The model is now being studied by the state as it writes its climate adaptation plan, though elders warn that external money must not override village rules.